Strong winds hit Melbourne Australia last week. These winds swept through the city and hit a historical brick wall on Swanston Street. The wall gave way crushing the people who were walking along the sidewalk next to it. Alexander and Bridget Jones were in the path of the falling brick and mortar.

Alexander took some of the impact when he shielded his sister from the crushing wall. He died later of his injuries. His sister is recovering.

Go the the official news site at The Australian to see the news video.

The story from the Australian with the video is listed in the link below:

Pictures of the horror collapse
THE parents of siblings Alexander and Bridget Jones have said they are ”overwhelmed” and ”distressed” after their son died and their daughter battles for life in hospital following the wall collapse in Carlton on Thursday.

Ian and Sue Jones issued a statement this afternoon to thank everyone who tried to help in the tragedy.

”We are overwhelmed at the loss of our son Alexander and are very distressed to see our critically ill daughter in the hospital.

”Our hearts go out to the family of the other lady who was killed in this tragedy.

”We understand people who were passing by and the emergency services did everything that they could and we are so grateful these people tried their best for our children.

”We would also like to thank members of Victoria Police and staff at The Royal Melbourne Hospital who have been so caring and respectful.

”We would like to thank our family and friends and the friends of Alexander and Bridget, the Montmorency Secondary College community, and many others who have sent in their wishes and offered support.

Brother and sister Alex and Bridget Jones were devoted to each other.

”We would ask that people respect our privacy at this very sad and difficult time,” the statement read.

Melbourne University architecture student Alex Jones, 19, was walking sister Bridget, 18, along Swanston St to her 3pm class when a powerful wind gust brought a brick wall crashing down on top of them.

Rescuers on the scene immediately afterwards said Mr Jones’s body was found on top of his injured sister, partially shielding her from the crushing impact.

Dozens of friends today gathered at the collapsed wall at the Grocon site on Swanston St to lay flowers and console one another.

Bridget remained fighting for life at the Royal Melbourne Hospital after emergency surgery.

Her brother, and an unidentified woman in her 30s, died instantly.

Collapse horror

Thu 28/03/2013: A man and a woman are dead after a brick wall collapsed at the Grocon site

Flowers were laid at the scene of the tragedy this morning. Picture: Stuart Walmsley

“It’s horrendous – a tragic accident,” she said.

“The families involved are devastated.”

Police believe more people were injured in the collapse, but fled the scene fearing further harm.

Banyule Mayor Wayne Phillips said the council would offer any support possible to the Jones family, of Montmorency.

It was to be hoped the tragedy was a freak accident and not the result of red tape, he said.

“If it’s a freak accident it’s very sad,” he said.

“But if it’s something structural – or something caused by the fact there are heritage restrictions, and they have been demolishing parts of the site around it and the wall was not properly supported – that would be a tragedy,” Cr Phillips said.
Next week’s talks will involve the State Government, Victorian Building Commission and Melbourne City Council.

Planning Minister Matthew Guy told the Herald Sun he had ordered the Building Commission audit in a bid to prevent similar tragedies.

“We will get the Building Commission to look at all those CBD structures as soon as possible,” the minister said.

Mr Guy said he would also seek advice on structural tests and see if they could be carried out more frequently.

“This one has passed the structural strength for some time and that’s fine.

“But it’s whether or not it remains at that level,” he said. “There needs to be a continual audit and continual compliance for structures that are like that.”

City of Melbourne spokesman Sam Bishop said: ‘If concerns are raised about the integrity of any particular structure in the City of Melbourne, our municipal building surveyor’s office will investigate.”

The collapse of the wall at the CUB brewery site in Swanston, St, Carlton, is believed to have been caused by a freak gust of wind.

Grocon officials believe the wall was built in the 1970s, forming part of a boundary to the CUB site.

Almost 14 billion years ago, the universe started a grand adventure leading to our present day. The heavens parted, life sprang forth, we left our nomadic past and settled into modern life. Somewhere, along the way, love entered into our lives.

Yet, you can not touch it, taste it, smell it. You can’t find it on any shelf. If you ground up all of the matter that surrounds us, crushing the planet to dust, you could not find a single atom of love.

Except… Somehow love is a fundamental building block of life as we know it.

Written in all caps at the top was an oh-so-serious “DON’T LET ANYONE SEE THIS,” which was immediately followed by Trevor’s more anxious tone urging Cathy to decide which boy, he or Brad, she was going to choose to date.

The note reads, “Dear Cathy, I still like you and I still want you to go with me. I know Brad likes you. Please decide who you’re going to go with. Think hard and let me know your decision. I’ll be standing at the end of this hall and the beginning of the other hall. Meet me there as soon as school’s out and you can tell me. Sincerely, Trevor.”

Cathy did meet him at the end of the hall that day, but despite his efforts, their sixth-grade romance was short-lived.

“He sent me that note and I ended up meeting him at the hallway and we went out for two weeks,” Cathy, 32, told ABCNews.com. “We called it ‘going out’ back then. I think we went to an Addams Family movie, and I brought a friend with me. He never lets me live that down.”

They stayed friends over the years and eventually married. The note was displayed at their wedding.

I went to the CentralWorld mall here in Bangkok off of Sukhumvit Road. The elevated rail line (BTS) has a walkway underneath that allows you to walk to various points on the main road without having to go to the main street and face the chaos of the local traffic.

View of BTS train on the elevated rail line going down Sukhumvit.

From Chit Lom I headed towards Siam station via the walkway. Various buildings have bridges that allow you to walk into their second or third floors directly from the walkway. I headed into the mall to get some lunch and cool off from the heat.

The humidity and heat are getting more tolerable now that the rainy season is here. However, you still just drip from the lack of a breeze, high humidity and summer temperatures.

After I walked into the main entranceway I found myself following an older couple down the hallway. They were as soaked as I was from the heat and sweat. The man pulled out a kerchief and started dabbing the back of his wife’s neck. A very simple little gesture, but how many of us ever think of something so gentle and so simple in life?

A Troll Looks at Love!

What is a soul mate? This is where I stick my neck in the noose. Noose? This is probably a guillotine with a razor sharp blade. That blade was most likely dipped in snake venom before they cinched my arms behind my back and stuck my head on the block. Just for good measure they’ll probably pour lemon juice on my severed head to make sure it burns!

I freely admit I have no expertise in this area and I am not a trained Psychologist. My idea of relationship guidance is the movie “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”. Read this at your own risk!

Looking for your soul mate?

Get in line. In fact, I would bet if you asked 100 singles in a bar, a large majority would say some vague reference to finding their soul mate. That one person that “Get’s them”. That person who understands their every move and nuance without saying a word.

A few of them would just be crass drunks, but the sober ones would give you a canned answer. We are programmed by Disney and romance movies to think this is the Holy Grail of relationships. The more jaded people place this reference up there with Waiting for Prince Charming, Unicorns and getting a fair trail. Probably not likely to show up on your doorstep anytime soon.

Ok, let’s face it, that whole unicorn thing is a little freaky. Even if you found one, would you ride it? I can see the headline now, “Husband skewered by wife’s unicorn while out for a trail ride!”

Come on, you know you would do it. Large insurance, nobody snoring next to you at night, the seat always down. The best part is no jury would convict you because the unicorn did it! Putting his ass underground would be a freebee. Yea, those wheels are spinning even as you read this…

But I digress. This was about finding that guy or girl that just fits not knocking off your current mate. Let’s dig deeper!

One heck of a list! Who knew when you met that the single lady was mentally checking off a list of items to decide in the next thirty seconds if you are “Soul Mate” material. Next time I meet someone I’ll be sure to comb my hair first. Oh wait…

Yes, Viginia there is a Santa Clause!

I have seen couples that go the distance. I can think of several in my mind right now. They manage to keep it going year after year, good times and bad. One of the best examples I have seen was during a vacation in Cleveland, Ohio.

Do you know when your little and everyone asks you want you want to be when you grow up? We kind of drift around in High School. Oh sure, you get a few uber dedicated kids that just know they are going to be Doctors, but the majority have no idea what they are going to be doing at 40.

Well the folks I used to hang with in High School all went down different paths. I doubt any of us guessed what life had in store. Actually, that is a very special gift when you think about it.

One of my friends from High School became a Priest. Who knew right? One minute your drinking beer and having fun, the next thing he is talking to God.

When I visit Cleveland, he lets me stay at the Rectory. Now, that is another story, but he invited some of our other friends from back then to dinner.

Robin and Russ at Dinner

Robin met Russ on a city bus. Robin was out of school and going downtown to work. Russ was a student finishing his engineering degree and a few years older than Robin. I remember when she was talking about this guy. Her eyes lit up and she was smitten! He was the best thing since sliced bread to her. Looking back, he really did have his shit together. He was a very solid young man.

They married and now, many years later, they are still going strong. When they showed up to dinner, I sat and watched them interact at the table.

They might as well have been in a private booth. An open table under the evening sky, and these two only had eyes for each other. They were constantly touching in some small way. I doubt they even knew they were doing it. The laughter would roll, the stories would go back and forth, but they looked to each other for approval or confirmation. It was amazing to see!

There is only one man/woman for me!

Bullshit.

This is complex and simple at the same time.

I have met beautiful women who were wretched people. I have met stunning women who are never going to be in a magazine. There are certain traits we search for. The way a person walks, looks, scent, smile, tone of voice, all of the physical attributes that make all of us unique and special in life. That is a basic set of nature that we all share.

Then there is the inside. The way you express yourself or the kind of person you are at your core. I am sure the Psychologists call it something. Probably our Id or Super Ego or something. Yet the inside is what allows that Troll of a Guy to end up with a woman who is obviously outside his league.

A friend of mine once said; “Oh, red-heads are the sexiest women in the world to me.”

So, I asked;”Is your wife a red-head?”

My friend; “No. She’s a brunette.”

We don’t look for a single fantasy trait. We look for the person that makes us feel complete. Someone who compliments us in ways we haven’t thought about. They don’t have to be a 100% match, nobody is everything to everyone. You get there and you build the rest together.

Over the long term, the shine wears off. Your soul mate is the person you wake up with and spend time with. The one that makes you feel compatible in most things, not everything. Shared goals, shared experiences, conversations, challenges, coming through hard times together. That comes down to commitment and hard work.

How do you find a soul mate?

Make ’em laugh!

No really, life is too short to worry about a lot of this crap. You are going to have a lot of pain, struggles, good days, bad days, crisis, and through it all, in my extremely humble opinion, at the end of the day, you want to look back at 90 and see more smiles than frowns!

In my mind, you can narrow your choice down to a range of people and then it is finding one that gels or clicks. And that is a very broad group of people.

After that, you have to get up in the morning and work on being together. That your focus is on each other. Let the rest of the world spin around you like Robin and Russ did at dinner. Make sure you are committed to each other and the world you are building together.

Honestly, if I knew the real answer, I would have my own TV show! These are just my thoughts on a complex subject that popped into my head.